Israel top court puts Arab parties back on ballot

Israel's Supreme Court reinstated the United Arab List and another Arab party to the Oct. 27 election ballot, overruling a lawmakers' committee that had voted to disqualify them in September. The court also voted 7-2 to restore the candidacy of Ofer Cassif, a far-left Jewish lawmaker and frequent critic of Israel's policies toward Palestinians, over two dissenting justices who said he supported armed struggle against the state.

Separately, Sami Abu Shehadeh, head of the Balad party, withdrew his own candidacy after justices signaled at a hearing they would likely uphold his disqualification, which was based on an article he wrote calling the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack an 'important historical event'; he denies supporting the attack. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called the exclusion a tremendous victory, while rights group Adalah called the entire disqualification effort an attempt to delegitimize Palestinian citizens' political representation.

The United Arab List, known as Raam, is also running a Jewish Zionist candidate popular for his police work, a move some analysts think could ease a future coalition with Netanyahu's rivals.

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